Monday Funday - healthy BBQ options

Like any BBQ, there are both healthy and unhealthy options. It's up to you to navigate (or even bring a healthy option).

Here are some great ideas:

• Sam's Club "Member's Mark" Chicken, Sun Dried Tomato, and Provolone Cheese Sausages (per link: 120 calories, 7g fat (3g sat fat) 0 trans fat, 1g carbs, 490 mg sodium). These are absolutely delicious!!
  
• Instead of making a pesto pasta salad with regular pasta, use some whole wheat pasta. If you over cook the pasta a little, it has less of a grainy texture
• Chicken and Zucchini Pesto Shish (Slice the zucchini, and put it into a storage bag with pesto sauce for about two hours. Put the chicken and zucchini on skewers. If you use wooden skewers soak them for about 30 minutes to prevent splintering and burning on the grill. Turn the bag that you marinaded the zucchini in, and rub each chicken skewer with the left over pesto before placing it on the grill. BBQ for about 10-15 minutes, turning it over halfway)
• Make a fiery marinade. Mix spoonfuls of garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, ground red pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in a zipper-lock bag until it forms a paste. Toss in the meat and shake until it's well coated (from Men's Health)
• Change up your shish by adding seafood with fruit (they both cook quicker, so it's better to put hearty meats like steak and chicken with more dense veggies like cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and mushrooms. Whereas, tuna steak, salmon, or shrimp cook better along side pineapples and peaches)
• Grill up a portabella mushroom, instead of a burger. I use the whole wheat thin buns instead of white buns to vamp up the health factors for burgers. Turkey burgers are another good option.
  
• Fruit salads are always a party favorite, and for a little spunk, soak the fruit in flavored vodka (like Light Cruzan Pineapple Rum). Then, freeze for a couple of hours before the party. These fruits also make great "ice cubes" in a punch
• Nutty Apple Salad: combine mixed greens, cashews, sliced green apples, and apple cider vinegar to taste (as dressing) - Serving Size is 2 cups (courtsey of Fitness Magazine). This is a great way to add a summer flare to an everyday salad. 118 calories, 4 g fat (1g saturated fat), 19 g carbs, 31 mg sodium

Though the cheeseburgers, hot dogs, potato salads, cookies, and many other options may seem to call your name, remember that these options taste just as good (some better) and your body will feel much better for hours and years to come. On the other hand, if you find yourself eating strictly then maybe today is the day to live a little. It's up to you!

Happy Memorial Day!!

Happy One Month Birthday

Happy One Month Birthday to my blog, and to eating healthy!!

I won't be updating today or until Monday. But I'm having a memorial day weekend BBQ filled with lots of great new recipes!!!

Rebelling

Nothing is better than waking up on a hot summer day and having a fruit salad for breakfast. Yesterday I had strawberries and egg whites. This morning (in part because brad was washing the dishes and I didn't want to disrupt), I just had a pineapple, grape, and strawberry fruit salad with water. Yum!

Later in the day I ended up having a bit of a snacking binge, but you know what - I was watching Drop Dead Diva, which is a show I'm partly obsessed with. I felt like the thin girl, Stacy, was patronizing me with her very serious "we don't eat after 7 antics." I thought, you're right, I don't usually eat after 7, but I'm freaking hungry and my body is obviously telling me something. I'm today realizing no matter how healthy I eat, I will never be a rail thin girl. Yes I'm thin, but I've got a butt and hips. I love to taste delicious flavors and eating a chicken breast with steamed broccoli for dinner every night just won't cut it for me. That is a sacrifice I am willing to live with: if eating foods I enjoy means I'll never have super low body fat or be a perfect body, then who the hell cares. I don't!

Yesterday, I was greeted by a new Fitness Magazine. I made an egg white omelet with two tablespoons of salsa and one pinch of low fat cheddar cheese. For lunch, I had a chicken salad wrap, nothing special there.

Dinner is:
Thai Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

20 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough, (see Shopping Tip)

1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon canola oil

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

2/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Place oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Roll out or stretch dough on a lightly floured surface into a rough 16-inch oval. Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake on the bottom rack until puffed and lightly crisped on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk peanut butter, water, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and garlic in a small bowl until well combined.

4. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add bell pepper, scallions and 1 tablespoon of the peanut sauce to the chicken; toss to combine.

5. Remove the crust from the oven; spread evenly with the remaining peanut sauce. Top with the chicken mixture, then sprinkle with cheese. Return the pizza to the oven and bake on the bottom rack until the crust is crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 11 to 13 minutes.

Tip:
Shopping Tip: Look for balls of whole-wheat pizza dough, fresh or frozen, at your supermarket. Choose a brand without hydrogenated oils.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 355, Total Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 29 mg, Sodium 447 mg, Carbohydrate 42 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 20 g, Potassium 151 mg. Daily Values: Vitamin A 15%, Vitamin C 45%. Exchanges: Starch 3,High-Fat Meat 2.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

For me this recipe is a little impractical because I don't have time to be assembling (and by assembling, I mean rolling out dough. It gets me frustrated) pizza, so I used a whole wheat flat bread to make personal pizzas. I also don't have enough people in my house to eat this thing before we go away for the weekend.

P.S. Never buy Chex Mix - the stuff is so addicting. I may throw it out, just so I won't eat it. Oh and here's some ridiculous Kim Kardashian advice that cracked me up via Hollywood Life:

Listen to Kim Kardashian’s insanely make-sense advice to her “twitterfam” – “wear a bathing suit to dinner! We would eat so good if we did that!” You know Kim, that’s actually really good advice. In fact, if we walked around all day in bikinis, we’d probably turn down our Blimpies all the time!

Keep preaching girlfriend. In the meantime, for those of us who don't care to wear bikinis to dinner or anywhere other than possibly the beach, keep on trying to eat healthy with me!

Expert advice tips with a practical spin!

I feel really guilty because I haven't posted, but I have been staying on the right track. I find that my hardest "habit" to keep under control is late night eating. I suggested drinking a glass of skim at night in an earlier post, but then I start to want some oreos to dip that in and it's not very effective at my weaker moments. I find drinking tea while I'm watching some late night television works wonders. I'm a big fan of teavana. They have some great flavored teas that really hit the sweet spot.

While we're on the topic of snaking here is some really cool advice I saw on the Women's Health Website:

The Advice: If You Must Drink While You Diet, Order a White-wine Spritzer.

Why it's useless: Despite the dainty name, it tastes just like what it is: watered-down wine.

The real deal: There's no weight-loss magic in a spritzer, a cup of wine diluted with calorie-free carbonated water. It's just another portion-control trick that trims your total calorie intake, Clark says. If you balk at the idea of outdated cocktails or weak-tasting grape juice, slowly sipping a glass of water between rounds of pinot grigio accomplishes the same goal.

I actually love this idea because I really enjoy a great glass of wine, and my family always seems to have sangria at parties. I am going to try this one. I also really like this piece of advice below because I've found myself deliberately chewing slower and not only do I taste my food longer, but I get full faster. The conjunction of eating slower and the tip below seem like great options:

The Advice: Put Half Your Entrée in a To-go Box Before You Start to Eat.

Why it's useless: You know you have portion-control issues, but that doesn't mean you want everyone else at your table to know it too. The real deal: A better way to cut back on restaurant binging is to pretend the breadbasket is sprinkled with cyanide and to double up on veggie sides instead of ordering fries. Also effective: putting your fork down between bites, which gives your stomach and brain time to register that you're full (which takes about 20 minutes). Once your gauge hits "F," ask the waiter to box up the rest of your food right away so you won't keep nibbling, Benzinger says.

So today I made different muffins. These do not have oil or butter, which I like. I added an extra banana to the recipe and 1/4 cup skim milk due to the suggestions under the recipe. These are Lighter Banana Muffins. They are a little chewy as compared to some other recipes, but I think it's worth sacrificing a little texture because otherwise these are delicious.

I also made Italian Style Meatballs. I use panko breadcrumbs instead of the suggested traditional breadcrumbs. They tend to have less calories and salt than traditional, and they are less absorbent; panko doesn't get as greasy as traditional bread crumbs. I've been searching for whole wheat panko, but I haven't been able to find it at any of my local supermarkets. If you can find it, that would be the obvious best option.

Lastly, my guiltiest pleasure, which isn't very guilty anymore, is the Caesar Salad I posted about a while back. It's delicious. We can't get enough of it in our house, and today I added a little pan seared tuna instead of chicken. I'm still on the search for other great salad dressing. Though I've posted some good ones, nothing compares to the Caesar yet.

Anyway, keep on keepin' on :)

What a delicious day

I usually have some fresh fruit or smoothie for breakfast, but today I was in the mood for change: Quick Breakfast Pizza . Listed below is the original recipe, in parenthesis is what I changed

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 egg plus 2 egg whites
• 1 whole-grain pita (5 inches), toasted (whole wheat flat bread)
  
• 2 tablespoons shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese(2 tbs shredded low-fat horseradish cheddar)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (added 1 tsp of Ragu with oregano, and took out the dried oregano)
• 1/2 cup grapes

Directions

Spray skillet with cooking spray and scramble eggs. Top toasted pita with egg, cheese and oregano. Broil for 5 minutes, until cheese is bubbling. Serve with grapes.

Nutrition facts per serving:

• Calories 303
• Total Fat (g) 10
• Saturated Fat (g) 4
• Carbohydrate (g) 34
• Fiber (g) 4
• Protein (g) 22

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Last night I made Bev's Chocolate Chip Cookies. I had seen this on foodnetwork, eating well magazine and fitness magazine, so I decided to give it a whirl. The cookies were good, but for 99 calories, I would rather eat a 100 calorie pack of mini cookies. I can't have just one cookie. The nutritional info for the cookies is: Per cookie: 99 calories; 5 g fat (2 g sat, 2 g mono); 11 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrates; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber; 64 mg sodium; 55 mg potassium.

For lunch I made Honey-Tahini Dressing:

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup tahini, (see Tip)

2 tablespoons honey

2 cloves garlic, minced

Although the recipe on the link calls for a different salad, I made it with romaine lettuce (two heads for $1 at the farmer's market) and grilled chicken. For dinner I went to Pithari. If you are in the mood for good Greek food, this is the place to go. I had Skordalia Aliada, which is a potato garlic dip (for lack of a better description), as an appetizer and lamb souvlaki.

Yum Yum Yummy Yum :)

Double Recipe Day..

I haven't eaten such a delicious lunch in a very long time. Thai Chicken-Broccoli Wrap is beyond delicious and it's only:
191 calories, 18g protein, 16g carbohydrate, 6g fat (1g saturated), 2g fiber

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken-breast strips
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups packaged broccoli slaw
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
3 10-inch whole wheat tortillas, warmed

Directions
1. Sprinkle chicken strips with garlic salt and pepper. Coat a skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until no longer pink. Remove from pan; keep warm. Add broccoli and 1/4 teaspoon of the ground ginger to skillet. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
2. In a saucepan, combine peanut butter, 2 tablespoons water, soy sauce, minced garlic, and the remaining ginger. Heat over low heat until smooth, whisking constantly.
3. To assemble, spread tortillas with peanut sauce. Top with chicken strips and vegetable mixture. Roll up each tortilla, securing with a toothpick. Cut in half; serve immediately.

I woke up and ran:

After my run and before I hit the gym, I had sliced strawberries and water for breakfast. For dinner I made chili; it was ok. I say only ok because it was a little bland.

Super Light Mexican Chili con carne with beans

4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium yellow onion, cut into find dice
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into fine dice
One 35-ounce canned whole plum tomatoes, roughly chopped juices reserved
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp ground cumin
12 ounces ground turkey breast
One 14-ounce can black beans, drained
1 cup shredded 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese

1. In a dutch oven, add garlic, onion, pepper, tomato, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low, cover and simmer for about 8 minutes (until the veggies are tender).
2. Raise the heat back up to high and add the ground turkey. Make sure you break up the turkey. Add black beans, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to lower, cover and simmer for about 8 minutes (until the turkey is cooked)
3. Top with cheese, if desired.

Nutritional Facts:
Calories: 287
Fat: 4.6 g
Protein: 36 g
Carbs: 32 g

Frozen or Fresh?

Today I started my day with a strawberry-banana smoothie:

1/2 cup frozen strawberries (quick tip: though it seems obvious, chop the bananas before you freeze them. They will blend faster than if you put a whole frozen strawberry in the blender).
1/2 banana
1/2 cup skim milk
1 scoop protein (optional)

If you don't want the smoothie to be frothy, and like a more "milkshake" texture, freeze the bananas as well (again chop them for an easier blend). This will make it thicker. I love that this hits my sweet tooth without adding any sugar.

While we're on the topic of fruits, here is a bit of information that I found some-what helpful:

When vegetables are in-season, buy them fresh and ripe. “Off-season,” frozen vegetables will give you a high concentration of nutrients. Choose packages marked with a USDA “U.S. Fancy” shield, which designates produce of the best size, shape and color; vegetables of this standard also tend to be more nutrient-rich than the lower grades “U.S. No. 1” or “U.S. No. 2.” Eat them soon after purchase: over many months, nutrients in frozen vegetables do inevitably degrade. Finally, steam or microwave rather than boil your produce to minimize the loss of water-soluble vitamins. ( eatingwell.com)

I like to go to the local farmers market or directly to the farm to buy my produce. I find it's much cheaper than going to the supermarket, and I like supporting local farmers. When I go to the farmers market, I tend to get a head of lettuce for $1 each (once I got 6 heads for $3), and grapes for $1/lb. I also don't enjoy frozen vegetables as much because they lack some of their rich flavors. The jury still seems to be out on fresh vs. frozen, as I've found poking around. I say go fresh, when you can.

This afternoon, I went to the Greek Festival and ate very unhealthy options. But it's once a year, and there is no excuse for missing out on loukoumades (they are like donuts with a sugary honey sauce). For dinner I had a steak and side salad at my parent's house. Very delicious.

On a side note: I haven't had soda in about three weeks (aside from a sprite with vodka), which is good. When I was working a bunch of hours out of the house, I lived on Coke for energy.

Can you believe its been weeks? I can't!

When life gives you lemons, use them they're so healthy!!

Lemon is one of the most understated foods, in my opinion. It's great for a dressing to salad, adding zest to water, as a garnish, or adding a little flavor to veggies. According to healthmad.com :

Nutritionally, the lemon constitutes one of nature’s seven top sources of potassium, a mineral that promotes clear thinking, aids in normalizing blood pressure, and works with sodium to regulate the body’s water balance.

That's some pretty cool stuff right there. I started thinking about lemons a week ago, but today for dinner I made Ahi Tuna (you can get great individual frozen tuna steaks at Sam's Club. I pop them on the grill for about 3-4 minutes and they're ready to eat) and zucchini with garlic. Right before I ate it, I squeezed a lemon over my dish. The lemon added flavor. I find lemon is a natural ingredient that I never really used until recently. I prefer to use it over other unhealthy options to spice up food. What makes a salad feel lighter than adding a little lemon juice as dressing? It feels so fresh and summery. I just love it. Lemons also speed up metabolism and help in the digestion of food.

The website continues to say:

Lemons also provide modest amounts of nondairy calcium for healthy bones and teeth, magnesium, an aid in forming albumen in the blood, plus enzymes, iron, phosphorus, and copper. Fresh lemon juice has only 4 calories a tablespoon and just a trace of sodium. More importantly, just a single tablespoon of lemon juice one tenth of your daily requirement for vitamin C. The lemon is one of nature’s five best sources of ascorbic acid.

I think, I'm convinced. I'm a believer, please bring on the lemons. Don't get carried away and make lemonade with tons of sugar, the sugar counteracts all the health benefits. You know the kind I'm talking about, carnival lemonade that looks so refreshing until you seem the workers dump, I mean really dump, sugar into those babies. Oye.

Anyway, moving on. I woke up and ran, but for some reason this morning I was super starving and my run was not enjoyable. I felt very nauseous. I think it's because I had one drink last night with my dinner (bad girl, I know!). If I feel that way tomorrow morning, I know it must be something else, and I'll have to look back into my log to figure it out. Here's my run:

For lunch, I went to Sandy's , which isn't a chain so I can't really give nutritional facts or recommendations. Fortunately, I used to work there (and two of my brothers and sister work there as well), so I have an idea of what to eat. After learning about Caesar salad nutritional facts, I stay away from it unless I made it myself. With that being said, I went for a chicken salad wrap with a small side salad. I should maybe do a post on salads, because for each place I eat out at, I see how atrocious their salads are, and it makes me really disgusted. I think people go out to eat and get a salad as their "healthy" option. I know I used to, but it's very deceiving. How many of us have heard the old "just make one of your meals a salad and you'll loose weight?" Clearly, that's not the case if you're eating out. Enough of that rant, I'll eventually do a nice big post on salads for other salad lovers.

Anyway, it's gorgeous out and I'm off to a pig roast. Yup, you read it correctly, a pig roast.

Sodium: the health world's dirty little secret

I woke up, and ran. I used to run three to five miles everyday, but I stopped when I got really busy with graduate school. I'm amazed at how quickly it comes back. I've very proud of my four miles today:

I made a Smoothie for breakfast. I ate it after my run, and drank lots of water. Lunch and dinner were nothing new, and I'm finding myself in an eating rut. What I've found most interesting in all of these healthy articles and artifacts that focus on healthy living, there is a hidden secret that no one talks about: SODIUM!

Sodium is an important part of our diets. It helps muscle, nerves, pH balance, and hydration. A "normal" sodium intake is about 2300 mg (close to 1 tsp) per day. We gain a lot of sodium in processed foods. I found this when I was looking at restaurant "healthy options" at On The Border because I went there the other night. A healthy suggestion was the Chicken Salsa Fresca. It is 520 calories, not bad, 9 g fat, looking pretty good, 2410 mg of sodium, wait what!! That's more sodium than a suggested daily intake. Sodium can cause high blood pressure, but it can also cause calcium to be lost, and in extreme cases lead to osteoporosis. Imagine eating out a lot, and thinking you're eating healthy, but instead if you eat a meal like this twice a day, you're doubling your sodium intake everyday. Even if you eat one meal out, you will be going over your daily intake of sodium. That doesn't seem like a really hard thing to do considering the amount of time people eat out. I tend to salt things, and I blame it on my mother. She is also a salter. But reading this and gaining this knowledge has made me think twice about the "healthy" options at restaurants, but also think before I salt my food.

Beware of that dirty little word: Sodium.

Food for thought..

Eating healthy is in direct opposition to yo-yo and fad diets. Instead of restricting yourself for a week, month, year, or however long, eating healthy is like learning to ride a bike. I think, I still have my training wheels on, and it's been a couple of weeks. I have learned how to eat out and eat in. Though I spend a lot of time looking up nutritional facts before I go out to eat, it's something I will only need to do once. Like riding a bike once I'm off, I can go wherever and not think about it. So for those of you that follow me and feel like it's a lot a work, I won't lie: it is! But once you've got it down, it becomes part of your everyday. So don't get discouraged. You can do it!

Okay, enough of my inspirational jabber..

Today I woke up and ran:

After I ran, I had a handful of grapes and a bottle of water. Then I went to the gym and did:

• Free weight squats
• Super-set Leg Press and Stiff legged dead lifts
• Super set of Side raises, tricep pull downs, and dumbbell bicep curls
• Super set of front raises, one armed tricep extention, and bicep curls
• Plank (my arms on the half ball and legs on an exercise ball)
• Reverse crunches (Reverse Crunch Exercise with a Balance Ball -- powered by eHow.com)
• Crunches on a half ball - legs up and straight

After the gym, I felt exhausted and very sick to my stomach. I had a flat bread turkey sandwich with low fat cheddar cheese, lettuce, and a tiny bit of light mayo. I put it in the broiler for a little, and it tastes delicious. Then, I completely crashed and slept for two hours. This was clearly my fault for not eating properly. Lesson learned! Upon waking up, I became a cooking maniac. So far I have cooked two trays of mini banana muffins and a tray of pumpkin muffins (the ones I posted in an earlier blog). I also am making right now roasted garlic hummus and Caesar salad that I also posted about earlier. I will rate the hummus tomorrow because it takes 40 minutes to roast the garlic, and by that time it will be very late.

Last, but certainly not least, my friend sent me this article from the New York Times. I love what this runner said:

“The whole issue,” he said, “is exactly that: getting enough calories. The first thing to worry about isn’t so much what you eat, but how much you eat. You have to take the time to sit at the table and make sure your calorie count is high enough. And when you’re a vegan, to increase your calories as you increase training you need more food. This isn’t an elimination diet but an inclusion diet.”

The story continues..

He said he spent a great deal of time shopping, preparing and cooking food — and chewing. He is among the slowest and most deliberate eaters I know, and there is something about his determination at the table that is reminiscent of his determination on the road: he just doesn’t stop.

Though I am not a vegan (not yet at least), I really appreciate the time he takes thinking about food and eating (I too am a slow eater so maybe I'm biased). It's an important part of our day, that gets pushed aside. I think of food as gas. If you don't have gas in the car, your car won't run. If you don't put great food in your body, or any food, you won't function.Food is this great space to take time for yourself, eating slowly, and being at peace. Eating is a lot like running to me (sorry for all the comparisons in this post). It's time where I get to do something good for myself. I mindlessly or sometimes super alertly think about my next research project or book. It brings a lot of inner peace that, I would argue, a lot of us are missing in the day. Hey, if you don't have the time, you can spend a couple hours one day and make a ton of food: freeze it, reheat it, crock pots are awesome. Part of living healthy is changing your mind set. I used to think, "I can't go to the gym today and I have no time to eat because I need to do x,y, and z," but I realized I need to include eating properly and working out as part of my imperative x,y, and z. For those of us with smart phones, I sometimes send emails, read, research, and write on the stair climber; multitasking is great.

What is living without being our best selves?

Eating Out

I went to Chili's yesterday for lunch. I don't think I ever realized how unhealthy the seemingly healthy options are at "fast food" restaurants. When I think salad, I think hmm reasonably healthy. Don't let salads fool you (as I posted earlier about). I didn't even mention yet, there is a burger on the Chili's menu for 2000 calories! That's just ridiculous!!! One of their healthier options is the margarita chicken. I had it, and it has very good flavor.

I did a great workout from fitness magazine yesterday. I'll scan and post it tomorrow. Today I did the stair climber on fat burner level 7 for 15 minutes, did sprints for 15 minutes, and finished with the stair climber on fat burner again for 10 minutes. The last leg of the workout (no pun intended) was killer.

Tonight I went to Carrabbas. Interesting enough they do not release their nutritional information. I found a couple of websites that gave a ball park idea. However, one of the websites listed ravioli as having zero carbs, so beware of these seemingly helpful website. The information I garnered from looking up Carrabbas landed me with the Chicken Bryan. I love goat cheese, so I was totally sold. I loved every minute of eating it. My side was zucchini. Delish Delish Delish! I'll say it again: I want to eat healthy, but still enjoy great flavor, and not feel hungry!!

On the Border

On the Border, not so great either..

We went there for dinner, but there is a great website . It's a quick way to find healthy choices at local restaurants. However, I checked these choices against the nutritional information at OTB and found other options. I ordered grilled fajita tacos. They were ok, but I felt like I was super hungry after. To me, healthy eating doesn't mean being super restrictive. I was very disappointed with this option. You can go to OTB and eat a fajita, minus the tortillas and it's not horrible.

Today I ran:

The wind was killer, and suddenly my planned five mile jog became shorter. For breakfast I had oatmeal, nothing special. For lunch, I had a garlic taco, and dinner is above. Tomorrow I'm going to post some new recipes based on five ingredients!

Sodium, and Fat, and Calories..Oh My!! Some fun Chinese food facts

This salad dressing is great and it's not bad!

Honey-Lime Dressing
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 clove chopped garlic

Blend together (makes 4 servings)
Nutritional Facts per serving
155.5 calories
13 g fat
7.25 carbs

If you're ever wondering what you're eating this is a cool website .

I topped the salad with romaine lettuce, ground turkey meat, and sauteed zucchini.

Before dinner since we're eating Chinese, I spent some time surfing the internet. I usually order shrimp lo mein , but I kind of want to throw up after I read the nutritional facts. Now, I understand that this isn't exact, but it's a ball park. I also found this great article on sodium .

Here is what I found about

Healthy Asian food

Asian cultures tend to eat very healthfully, with an emphasis on veggies, and with meat used as a “condiment” rather than being the focus of the meal. Unfortunately, Americanized versions of these ethnic foods tend to be much higher in fat and calories – so caution is needed. But here’s a great tip for all Asian restaurants – use the chopsticks! You’ll eat more slowly, since you can’t grasp as much food with them at one time as you can with your normal fork and knife.

Asian Food Choices(the bolded purple ones are what I'm having for dinner)

Less healthy choices Fried egg rolls, spare ribs, tempura Battered or deep-fried dishes (sweet and sour pork, General Tso’s chicken) Deep-fried tofu Coconut milk, sweet and sour sauce, regular soy sauce Fried rice Salads with fried or crispy noodles

Healthy Choices

1. Egg drop, miso, wonton, or hot & sour soup
2. Stir-fried, steam roasted or broiled entrees (shrimp chow mein, chop suey)
3. Steamed or baked tofu
4. Sauces such as ponzu, rice-wine vinegar,wasabi, ginger, and low sodium soy sauce
5. Steamed brown rice
6. Edamame, cucumber salad, stir-fried veggies
   

Another quick tip for when you're hungry, have a cup of hot tea. If I have a snack craving at night, I have a cup of decaf hot tea. It does the trick! Try it out!

Happy mother's day!

First I have to start by saying, I spent Saturday afternoon watching Food INC. When I went out for drinks/dessert with some friends after, I couldn't stomach many things. I ended up eating a mozzarella, tomato, basil appetizer. I still feel sickened by that movie (though I know I still ate diary).

Here's the weekend update:

I think I ran my slowest two miles on Friday! I was super sluggish. But a really great power up song is Airplanes by B.O.B. featuring Hailey Williams (I used to love Paramore). Here is my run:

I ate a ton of leftovers on friday, so I don't have any delicious recipes to report. But, on Saturday I fell off the wagon. I ate apple jacks for breakfast and a hot dog for lunch (I was with my parents and it's our tradition to eat at this hot dog place after we got to englishtown. I felt guilty breaking it. I figured what's one hot dog), but boy-oh-boy did I feel really crappy. I ended up taking a two hour nap because I was completely deprived of energy. I won't be hitting the unhealthy wagon again after that. For dinner I made the Caesar salad I posted about before. But instead of adding mustard, I added 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and I substituted half of the parm cheese for horseradish cheddar that was in my fridge. It was good, but a little less creamy.

To end my weekend wrap up - today's run was:

I really dislike when I think or feel I am running a far distance, and when I come home, I realize it was not even three miles. I'm going to start lengthening my runs. Here's a little fun fact from the map my run website : The website has green facts. I started logging my workouts online five days ago. These are my green stats:
Total Workout Days: 5
Distance Traveled: 8.42 mi.
Gas Saved: 0.47 gallons
Money Saved: $1.63
Carbon Offset: 9.1 lbs. of CO2

I think that's very cool! For those of you who are runners, here is another fun list of the top 7 foods for runners . For breakfast today, I had a banana-peanut butter protein shake (post workout because I wake up and run. Then, I eat).

Lunch is not planned yet, and since today is Mother's Day, I am going to my in-law's for dinner. They are ordering chinese food. Expect a follow up blog after I spend my afternoon researching chinese food! Let's see what I come up with! Happy Mothers Day!

Phallus, Running, and Frittats

Super excited about breakfast this morning. I had a zucchini-potato frittata.

I've relegated myself to eating flat bread turkey sandwiches for both lunch and dinner because I was running around a lot.

I mapped my run this morning, and it's in the shape of a phallus. I don't know why, but I find it hilarious. Once I link the map to my blog, maybe you too will find it equally funny.


I haven't had a moment to pick up the G Free book, but I'm thinking about trying some recipes from women's health.

It's Peanut butter banana time..

This morning I opted for something different. Who wants to eat egg whites day in and day out? Not this girl! So I got this recipe: Peanut butter banana pancakes



This is the whole wheat batter I use

The pancakes were good. I made extra and froze them. I find it's always better to make extra and freeze them. This way, when you're in a rush or have no time, you can always pop the leftovers into the oven or microwave quickly.

Lunch and Dinner were nothing to write home about, or blog about for that matter. I'm exhausted, which is why I'm being super brief. Tomorrow I'm going to link my workout page and do all new recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

It's all about the Caesar baby!

I have found the ULTIMATE CAESAR SALAD! Normally this bad boy is around 850 calories and 64 g of fat/ serving.

Check out this recipe, it's 202 Calories and only 6.1 g of fat.

This makes 4 servings, and it's from Now Eat This this book is definitely worth picking up. It's 150 comfort food recipes jazzed up into a healthy version, each under 350 calories.

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (I left this ingredient out)
5 tbsp of low-fat-mayonnaise (I use Hellmann's Low-Fat Mayonnaise Dressing).
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a large bowl, combine the minced garlic, lemon juice, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and half of the grated cheese. Add One 9-ounce package of romaine lettuce, 4 chicken cutlets, and the rest of the cheese. Shake it and mix it!!

This recipe calls for croutons, and has a recipe for them; I am not a big crouton person (and I was also too lazy to toast the bread and this whole sha-bang for a little piece of hard bread in my salad). Instead, I took them out and added hard boiled egg whites!

I hit up Subway for lunch. It is a good deal for healthy eating when you're out, but you can make a turkey sammie at home for less money. Here is a list of items that are healthy and unhealthy at subway.

Quick On-the-Go Tip: For those of us smart phone users, I look up the restaurant I'm going to, if I'm out before I walk in. There should be an app for that - I'm going to look into it!

Week one - and done baybayyy!

For breakfast I've been eating the muffins I made in earlier posts. But I've eaten them all, so I'm going to put up some breakfast recipes tomorrow!

Welcome to Moe's

Anyone else love Moe's as much as I do? If you've never eaten there, it's a Southwest Grill. Every Monday it is, "Moe's Monday." This means you get any burrito, chips/salsa, and a drink for $6. As per usual, I went there after my gym workout. However before I went, I checked out the nutritional facts. I actually love this option on their website Moe's Nutrition Calculator . Click on the picture of the salad and you will be able to select exactly what you get. I'm not sure what the specific portions are, and I couldn't find anything on the website about it. But, I usually get a Joey Bag of Donuts. After checking the website, I have discovered that my average Monday lunch is 1,310 calories. That does not include the soda that comes with the meal (I learned today that water is not included in "Moe Monday").

After about thirty minutes of playing on this website, I finally went to Moe's and got a Joey Bag of Donuts. However this time, I got it naked, which they call streaked with steak, black beans, pico, lettuce, cucumbers, corn fired salsa, and a pinch of mixed cheese. This equally approximately 360 calories (give or take). However, I was thoroughly disappointed. A naked burrito lacks the gooey goodness of all the flavors pouring into your mouth in one bite. I'll have to play around with my options there, because I really do like Moe's. But it's just interesting to see, a simple burrito equals a RIDICULOUS amount of calories.

Tomorrow marks one week since I started this project. I'm going to weigh in. Today, I'm really hungry, and I've been feeling hungry all day. That's my only complaint.

Yummy

Eating better is really a change of lifestyle, and with that change you begin to recognize where your flaws previously existed. I used to eat out A LOT, I mean A LOT! Who wants to come home and cook after a long work day (and a long drive home)? I know that I emphatically do not want to. As I'm going through my first week, I'm discovering that a lot of my poor eating habits come from the following:

• Being so busy I forget to eat, or feel I do not have the time to eat, and then when I do eat - I want to eat every bad fat, carbs, and the kitchen sink.
• Eating out and knowing nothing about where I'm eating (which isn't always bad because who doesn't want a little adventure in their life), but also not knowing basic facts about eating.

So as I took on the week and weekend, eating out less, but still eating out I was able to visit these challenges with a new mentality (i.e. my previous post about PF Changs).

My breakfast started with a whole wheat pumpkin muffin from another fabulous blog. I do like the banana muffins better, and I feel a lot better about those ingredients, but I had some pumpkin in my pantry.

I went to see an off-Broadway show today, so lunch was in the city (I stopped at the nearest place that had AC because I was melting). Lunch consisted of a small cup of matzoh ball soup and garden salad. I had blue cheese dressing, but very sparingly.

As per the usual family Sunday tradition, I found myself at my parent's house for dinner. My mom came over earlier in the day to pick up some pesto from my house (it's from Sam's Club, and I don't know the brand off hand because I left the bottle at my parent's house. I'll post later when I get it because this stuff is off the charts delicious). There is also a healthy pesto sauce recipe that I'm planning on trying this week. We'll see if it meets my test. I am a very picky pesto eater - a pesto connoisseur, if you will :). Dinner was pesto salad with chicken, a garden salad, and a small layer dessert consisting of vanilla pudding and fruit.

Tomorrow I'm thinking G free for a week? Who doesn't love them a little Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

359 - time is going by quickly!

Resisting temptation and embracing healthier options

Yesterday, I stayed away from the refreshments. There was a ton of food, and I didn't have time to eat the flatbread I had hoped before I left (that I posted about yesterday). I was hungry, but eating healthy has this amazing power. I've been eating healthy and exercising, I no longer see a point in splurging. It felt "not worth it" (I hope everyone enjoys my grammar there). So here is my first EDIT!!

Dinner for yesterday was Linguini with Clams, and before you all cringe at it's unhealthy carb attributes check this out: Sauce 2 minced garlic cloves in 1 tbsp olive oil (I really love olive oil Spray, it just feels more controlled. I'm sure we've all had the accidentally pouring too much OO experience. This allows for a thin layer and therefore less fat). Strain and reserve half the liquid from a small can of clams. Add half the clams to the pan, and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 chopped and seeded tomatoes, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I would say this is optional, but the recipe has it as a listed ingredient), 1/2 cup dry white wine and reserve clam juice. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes Add I cup cooked whole wheat linguini and 1 cup spinach!

Whole wheat linguini is great because it has more fiber than it's white pasta friend. As Rocco Dispirito says, "with more fiber comes a slower release of the carbohydrates into the bloodstream and, long story short, less weigh gain" (p. xxi, Now Eat This!). A quick tip on whole wheat pastas - over cook the pasta until it's tender (not the al dente we've come to love with white pasta) and it's texture is similar to white pasta.

Today's breakfast was one of the banana muffins (I like to make a ton, and freeze them for later) and a glass of skim milk.

Since it's so beautiful out, I went to Stewart's for lunch - I resisted gyros, fat cats, and root beer. For lunch I had a turkey burger with a small side of chili and water.

Dinner was field greens, tomatoes, humus, and lamb.

For a snack - and I'm obsessed with this!! It's unbelievable!! fakeout banana ice cream
Thank you Rachael Ray. I can now enjoy ice cream!!

Still doing and never feeling hungry! I love this!
360 days to go...